FROM WKRN
The director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) warned a violent Venezuelan gang has resurfaced in Tennessee.
Compared to the transnational gang MS-13, which is made up of mostly members of Central American descent, officials said members of the Venezuelan gang are known to be involved in crimes ranging from trafficking woman to committing murder in broad daylight.
At Tuesday’s budget meeting with Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, TBI Director David Rausch opened his statement by saying, “I want to start off this morning with some concerning trends.”
According to Rausch, a Venezuelan gang named “Tren de Aragua” has been spotted in metropolitan areas across the Volunteer State.
“They are very violent. This is a group that was created in the prisons in Venezuela and they are here and they are in numbers here,” explained Rausch.
Venezuelan gangs are reportedly on the rise across the country. This year, the Biden administration named Tren de Aragua a “transnational criminal organization” and offered a $12 million reward for the arrest of its leaders. In fact, leaders in Texas directed its law enforcement to target the gang.
Meanwhile, in Tennessee, the TBI said the gang disappeared two years ago and recently resurfaced.
“Now what we are seeing is they are back,” said Rausch. “They are back in all of our major cities. They are running human trafficking operations. That’s where they start, but we have learned, talking with our peers throughout the country, that they have a pathway to more violence.”
Tren de Aragua begins its criminal enterprise by abducting women from Venezuela and trafficking them to the U.S., which eventually evolves into organized retail crime, drugs and heinous violence, according to the TBI.
“Recently, there was a video that they shot, where they shot a cartel member 31 times in broad daylight on video and posted it to social media,” added Rausch. “That’s the type of organization they are.”
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